Musicains/Bands that, Like Bowie, Continue to Evolve

[Jerjo]

I was musing on this on my blog last week in my Bowie obit/appreciation. Very few artists keep evolving like he did, ever changing, ever seeking out the next thing, never staying in one place too long. I can think of a few artists who routinely do this: Robert Fripp, Neil Young, post-Zeppelin Robert Plant, Patti Smith, Joe Jackson...yikes, that trail goes cold pretty quick. Maybe Pat Metheny as well.

I think a lot of our PE heroes curtailed their evolution or at least if their career went beyond a decade, stuck to what works best. Steve Hackett has had a long career but I don't see much stylistic change or at least not as severe of changes as Bowie did. One could argue for Peter Gabriel but he's done so little for so long while Bowie kept plugging away with releasing new music in new directions.

Warren Haynes has indicated that while Gov't Mule might stick to their strong suit, in his solo stuff he will continue to go in different directions. Man in Motion was two-fisted soul. The follow-up, Ashes & Dust is strictly folk/Americana.

Anyway, there's probably several that I'm not aware of so have it.

[rcarlberg]

Eno.

Dylan changed personnas several times. Neil Young too.

I tend to think of Bowie as a fashion follower, rather than a trend-setter, but he certainly was restless.

[Jerjo]

Eno.

Dylan changed personnas several times. Neil Young too.

I tend to think of Bowie as a fashion follower, rather than a trend-setter, but he certainly was restless.

Holy balls, how could I forget Dylan. Oh well, I'm sure there's more.

[angelo]

@Jerjo: where's your blog located, besides 'small town North'?

It's hard to come up with names here. You mentioned a few already in the rock and prog domain, and I just realised how hard it is to come up with 'main stream' artists who do this. Then again, X-factor and similar probably have killed main stream already so there are no names to be found. Would Madonna be an example from that domain?

[angelo]

@Jerjo: where's your blog located, besides 'small town North'?

Found it already - Google does have some merits, I guess. ;-)

[Gruno]

Madonna

[rcarlberg]

Madonna

She never strayed far from her core demographic, so far as I know.

[BaldFriede]

Peter Hammill. Always willing to experiment.

[Jerjo]

@Jerjo: where's your blog located, besides 'small town North'?

It's hard to come up with names here. You mentioned a few already in the rock and prog domain, and I just realised how hard it is to come up with 'main stream' artists who do this. Then again, X-factor and similar probably have killed main stream already so there are no names to be found. Would Madonna be an example from that domain?

PE's profile is a little limited too. Look carefully and it says "small town North (return down to next line) Dakota". I'm in a small town in the state of North Dakota, right up near the Canadian/US border. Glad you found the blog, hope you enjoy it.

[JKL2000]

Floyd did it for a good period.

Todd Rundgren definitely

[Gruno]

She never strayed far from her core demographic, so far as I know.

Correct -- you don't know.

[mozo-pg]

Steve Hackett has done full on classical, blues, pop, acoustic, classic, and so on. Definitely diverse to my ears.

[Rick Robson]

Steve Hackett has done full on classical, blues, pop, acoustic, classic, and so on. Definitely diverse to my ears.

Nothing more and nothing less to add here. SECONDED!

[markwoll]

Over their careers
Dave Sinclair...
Allan Holdsworth
Perhaps Steven Wilson

[hippypants]

Frank Zappa, natch
Joni Mitchell
Paul McCartney

[SteveSly]

What about Mike Keneally? He has been all over the place stylistically.

[bob_32_116]

Radiohead.

I don't appreciate everything they have done, but boy they don't stand still.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Toby Driver
Jim O'Rourke
Fred Frith
Ståle Storløkken
Dame Edna

[walt]

Michael Giles
Don Preston

[No Pride]

What about Mike Keneally? He has been all over the place stylistically.

"Hat" was my choice in the "greatest debuts" thread; his music was very well conceived right out of the box. But he has continued to experiment and develop and he never makes the same album, so I'll just say, good call!

How about XTC? They came a long way from their early new wave/ska to their later very sophisticated and quirky pop.

[Rarebird]

Nits?

[Zeuhlmate]

Zappa
Jeff Beck
Fripp did up to a certain point

[JKL2000]

Nickelback

[Reid]

What about Mike Keneally? He has been all over the place stylistically.

I'm waiting patiently for the new one. I'm sure it'll be chock full of good music!

[Kavus Torabi]

Currently Fred Frith and John Zorn spring to mind.
Both absurdly prolific, instantly recognisable but, as far as I can tell, rarely repeat themselves or tread the backward path.